History requires us to be active participants in its creation.
We aren’t just passive consumers of history, but active creators. Our daily decisions, our habits, from what we eat to who we engage with to our sleep patterns, clothing, and job schedules all become patterns that connect to the ways we define a given age.
People in the Middle Ages in Europe often broke sleep up in two sessions. The concept of “weekends” off from work is in part a response to labor movement demands for better quality of life for workers after the Industrial Revolution. And wealthy Europeans used to love spicing their food when it was a sign of prestige (there are theories that the focus on technique, rather than flavorful spices, emerged with fine dining and the greater accessibility of spices).
In each case, the people who did these things probably didn’t think they were making history (except for the labor union leaders, who probably did). They were just going about their lives.
In one of last year’s newsletters, I talked about one way I use my own intuition and imagination to study history (below, I also share some prompts so you can do this, too):
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Roots and Branches 